Christmas messages

Media

Part of The Lawyers Journal

Title
Christmas messages
Creator
Pelaez, Emmanuel
Concepcion, Roberto
Sanchez, Conrado V.
Nable, Mariano
Mariño, Salvador L.
Morfe, Jesus P.
San Diego, Lourdes P.
Bautista, Jose P.
Language
English
Year
1963
Subject
Christmas.
Lawyers -- Letters.
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Fulltext
,CHRISTMAS MESSAGES I consider it my great pride and pleasure to wi8h my colleagues in the law profession a most blessed Christmas and a ~008 New Year. I also wish to thank the Editors of the Lawyer's Journal for giving me thi8 valuable opportunity to ~ my fellow lawyers. Now that we a1-e in that sea.son of the year most cheri8hed by mankind for its spirit of selflessness and love, I wish to :recall with you, my eateemed fellow lawyers, the role of the men of law in our country. Looking at the hiatory of our couftt?'Y, from the beginning of our struggle for political freedom and independence, lawyers have always been at the helm. of our.destiny. The maimtay of our democracy i8 the rule, not of force but of law. Not of the bullet bui the ballot. Not of impul8e but of reaeon. In the executirin and interpretation of the role of law, the government officiaUJ as well as the common citizen necessarily must look to the men in the law profession for guidance and direction. So, in a very real sense, we of the law profession are, in effect, the real cuatodiam of democracy. Vigilance, it was once said, i! the price of liberty. Jt i8 ttp to us, the men of law, to keep the mainstream of our democracy healthy by constant and unabated vigilance over the civil liberties of our people. On. this joyOUll seaaon of love and selfgiving, therefor11, I would like to appeal to your patriotism and love of country. May I ~hort each and everyone of ybu to be your own vigilance committee in safeguarding that precious essense of democracy, the legacy of our fathers .and of the West: the BUPremacy of law over men. On your vigilance may very well hinge the future of our country. EMMANUEL PELAEZ Vice-President of the Philippines The message of Christmas-Peace to Men of Goodwill-has a particular significance for the Bench and the Bar. There can be no po8dble peace without goodwill among men. No such goodwill ia, however, conceivable without a minimum modicum of contentment, which cannot exist unless human rights and fundamental freedoms are recognized, as well 08 respected and ob8e1'\:led. Upon the other hand, the recognition of those rights and freedom.a, and the respect and observance thereof must be 'JJTO'moted 'Within the Rule of Law, for adherence thereto is a condition "sine qua non" to the very e~stence of every organized ' society and the same may not, without paving the way to its own dissolution, disregard the law, thereby jeopardizing the cause of peace, which i8 e&Bential to the well-being of all. Last, but not least, the Rule of Law cannot fully achieve its objectives without the earnest and full cooperation of the -peaple. TheTe must be a climate propitious to the effective operation of the law, which the Bench and the Bar may help create by settling disputes ,or solving legal problems in auch a way :l8 to impart the conviction that adherence to law and to its Peaceful processes is the best means to promote the welfare of all, and that, to this end, there must be tolerance and understanding and we mu.st guard ourselves against the evils of the passion, the prejudices, the hate and the bigotry that ha8 brought .so much sorrow to the world. Every Chriatmas is thm a reminder to the Benck and the Bar that their main role in the contea:t of society is that of peacemakeTs, which they are challenged to play to the best l'Jf their ability. In conveying my greetings and best wishes to my brethren in the judiciary and in the legal profession, I wish, also, to exyress the earnest hope that each one will meet the challenge fittingly. ROBERTO CONCEPCION Associate Justice Supreme Court bi Christmas, the divine tidings is distilled into one word: Peace. So. it has been since Nativity was heralded with the bZiblical message "Glory be to God in the highest and on earth peace to m~ of gaodwill." Triteness could have detracted s~ much from the import of this expreasion. Yet the centuriu through which it had been echoed and reechoed have not impairE:d its timeliness and validity. Today, as evBT, true and lasting peace still is an elusive ideal and brotherhood among men a cherished dream. It is, 'P6f"haps, little realized that we of the Bench and the Bar may al8o lend a hand to the attainment, limited though it is, of the noble aim-Peace. We are privy, by virtue of ou.r office and FO/ession, to the never ending contests in which parties vie for the advancement of their interests. Rivalries inmiitably generate passion, if not animosity and iU-will, amongt1t the participants. So it is that the avoidance of occasions or mf.sunderstandings and conflicts and the expeditious and just resolution of disputes-which are well within attr capacity to achieve-are amongst the seeds from which peace and goodwill could be fostered. They are, indeed, the constant desideratum of our every effort and endeav1'r. Propitio'U8 is it now, the advent of the Yuletide season, for a rededication to this goal. May the SJJ!.rit that pervades these Holidays abide with us all throughout the coming New Year. CONRADO V, SANCHEZ Associate Justice Court of Appeal8 Never in the history of our country da social problems make the life of an individual so difficult. And Christmas spirit undoubtedly becomes a sort of an oaais. In this spirit, we shoul.d turn our eyes towards our Creator for guidance and more or less permanent remedies. At least, during these day11, let m forget our problems and enjoy the season. Merry Christmas and a H°'1YfJ1/ New Year to all. Deceinber 31, 1963 LAWYERS JOURNAL MARIANO NABLE Presiding Judge OC>Urt o'f T""' AP11eal8 Page 355 ·. Through the years, Christmaa greetings and.measages QJ!.16 ~come atereo~.yped . .. and commercioUzed. The message of Chri8tma8 is not any less valid or true becauae of these---but they have a: tehdenCy to be, and to sound, hoUow, few tke Spirit of the Christ is not in them. The greetings are said only because they are in vogue, in season---as substitutes for "hello"' and ugoodbye"; and the ob;ect of these gTeetings are conditioned to react accordingly. For my pa.rt, I believe in the promise of Christmas--:tlie promise that the Coming of Christ was the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy at Eden; that even as God sent Man out of Paradise, He promised Man's redemption through Christ. I believe that the true spirit of Chriatmas cannot be, and is not, turned on at the start of the Beason and shut-off at the snd of the Year. 1 belieUe, imitead, that Christmas time is the period during which to rekindle and to strengthen maew that 8'J)irit of Love, of Charity, of Hope, and of Joy, that comes from a genuine belief in Christ. i believe, therefore, that Christmas is the time for the Brotherhood of the Bar to rededicate ourselves to our Oath: to seek, above all, Justice for every man; to champion always the cause of truth; and to see that the· innocent shall not be condemtied. And this is the time for those to whom we have entrusted the powers of government to remember and tO ponder upon the old message from. the Bible that Juatice to be Just should be tempered with Mercy. SALVADOR L. JllARIRO Secretary of J\tStice ·As ive usher in the Christmas Season this year we are reminded of the immortal message of the heavenly hosts in the night of the birth of Christ: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men" (Luke 2:14). This should remind us that the goal of justice is . peace and good will among men, for the attainment of which Christianity was founded, which goal tve seek to achieve in the fTfie world through peaceful settlement of individual or group d~­ putes by bloodless legal' combats in our courts. Indeed, the motto of the Philippine Department of Justice, as imcribed on its seal, is: JVB'l'ITIAE PAX OPVS" which, freely translated, means: "The Work of Justice is- Peace." But the judicial process can end in peace and good wi!l between litigants only if their disputes be ventilated before judge~ who are honest, capable, and ded1cated to tlie search for truth in every litigation, assisted by ethical lawyers whQ p1'68ent the cases of their clients capably and firmly, but with fairness and gentlemanliness ·towards adversaries and judges alike; bearing in mind always that decisions obtained through unethical practices and! or rendered by judges who were corropted by polit1cal, financial, or other extraneous influences,. cartnot ho'fJ8 to create either peace in the minds of the l68ing parties, or respect in the hearts of the favored agents of judicial coTruption. With these in mind, my u>ish is that the coming Chtistm.as bless all of us with the spirit of peace and good will, and 'the coming ·year shower both riches and honor on us all. JESUS P. MORFE Executive Judge Manila Court of First In.stance It has often occurred to me that the coming of Chri8Mias. once a year 48~~- a divine.-..flllln'"~··to fill a-crying need in man's altogether mad pursuit for material well-being the rest of the year. Come ChriBttnaa we all suddenly remember to take stock of the fortunes that the Little Child came all t1ie way down to earth to teach us, by ·ea:aJted word and sublime deed, to live by. Suddenly we pause from thC break-neck speed of wo1·ldly chores to evaluate, to make inventory, and pirkalps to hurriedly fntBT last-minute corrective and very often exculpatory adjustments before closing the balance Bheet of ou1· year's book of deeds. We pause to ask ourselves these questions: What have 1ve contributed towards making O'Ur homes happier, our communities safer and gladde1·, the w01·ld f1·eer? Christmas underscores for u.s the truth that man does not live by b1·ead alone. And in this age of bitter ideological stri.f6 thanks to which the world is jolted into the realization that there is, indeed, nothing more precious than human freedom from intfllectual., moral and social bondage, Christmas should come as a welcome day of truce for all men and women of good will - a day dedicated to an examination in retroapect of those opportunities they let go which could havf! been so eaaily and so effortlessly employed to right a wrong, to gladden a sad heart, to lessen another's bu1·den, to p1·omote a worthy caUBe, to help eradicate an evil. And in so doing, look forward in antici'J)ation to acomplishing in the coming year that which was left undone this and the past years, to resolving that the coming yea1· will be as fruitful in spfritual wealth as all of u.s so carefully resolve to make in material riches. To the readers of the Lawyers' Journal in particular, I wish to extend the prayer and the hope that in the coming year you will not by-pass any chance that the profession will surely afford you to contribute your share towards humanizing the law and the legal practices with the end in view of attaining, at least in your very own spheres of contacts and influence, a truly free, just and compassionate world. So that come nert Christmas, when once again you linger awhile on matters not of thia rude earth and look over your Book of Life you may, like the Angel that wrote thereon, enter a satisfactory judgment. May the Child Jesus b"less you and all of your loved ono,s, and may His guUling hand be with you in all your enterpri.. ses throughout the coming year. • My message to the lawyers is this: LOURDES P. SAN DIEGO Judge Court of First Instance Quezon City Branch The lawyers' duty is not to prove the guilty innocent but to help the Court arrive at the truth. A true lawyer '8 one who p"laces troth and service in the first place and the emoluments of the profession in the second place only. That is, Service, TTUth and Justice above all. But, Justice and Wisdom without Fortitude are useless. Page 356 LAWYERS JOURNAL JOSE s: BAUTISTA Presiding Judge Court of ln4ustrial Re~iona December. 31, ~96,3